“Sloth babies stay with their mothers for more than six months before they head off on their own.”

National Geographic Kids, 2015

When baby sloths are born, they have a full set of teeth and claws, or toes, and have their eyes open and weigh about 17 ounces. On instinct they crawl up to their mother’s chest and hang on for 6 months. Actually the two-fingered sloth will spend 12 months hanging onto their mother, while the three-fingered sloth is 6 months. Gestation is 11.5 months.

How do sloths engage in intercourse? It is a bit different between the toes where the three-toed emits a high pitch sound whereas both sexes of the two-toed rub their anal glands on the trees to attract a mate. If there is competition it will lead to biting and swiping their claws at each other.

Polygamy runs rampant amongst them, with the females being very indifferent to who they have sex with. The male will spend a few days with a female and leave after all is said and done. They do not participate in raising the infants. It’s strictly the female sloth’s job.

They give birth hanging upside down on the lower level of the trees in case the baby falls to the ground so it won’t be injured.

The youths move on after the 6 or 12 month bonding period but many stay in the same tree they were born in.

They have 1 baby about every 2 years. Within 1 week the baby will be eating leaves out of the mother’s mouth along with milk from nursing.

Sources: http://slothconservation.org/slothopedia, http://www.lifescience.com

To donate to help sloth conservation, please go to https://slothconservation.org/donate/